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Laoghaire MacKenzie
Laoghaire MacKenzie (LEE-ree) is a character first introduced in Outlander, later appears in Voyager and An Echo in the Bone, and is at least mentioned in the rest of the novels. She debuts in Outlander as a fair young maiden at Castle Leoch, infatuated with Jamie Fraser and hugely jealous of Claire. Laoghaire has two daughters, Joan and Marsali, from her second marriage, and four grandchildren – Germain, Joan, Félicité, and Henri-Christian – whom she has never met. Personal History Not much is known about Laoghaire's early life. At sixteen, she remembers Jamie from when he lived at Leoch as a teenager, when she herself was no more than ten. Her father, who brought her to Colum requesting she be punished for loose behavior, was likely a tenant of the MacKenzie, and so Laoghaire probably grew up near the castle and its inhabitants. Events of the Novels ''Outlander Laoghaire ostensibly falls in love with the strapping young Jamie when he takes her place in a public beating. When Jamie weds Claire, Laoghaire not only places an ill-wish under Claire's pillow, but sends her to meet Geillis Duncan just as the fiscal's wife is about to be tried for witchcraft; consequently, Claire gets dragged into the proceedings as well and is almost killed. Dragonfly in Amber In October of 1745, Colum tells Claire that Laoghaire married one of his tacksmen, Hugh MacKenzie of Muldaur, six months earlier. Colum offers to arrange a punishment for Laoghaire to right the wrong she did to Claire in Crainsmuir, but Claire declines. Voyager Laoghaire bore no children by her first husband, Hugh MacKenzie, but had two daughters with her second husband, Simon MacKimmie, who died in prison after the Rising. After Jamie returns from prison and indentured servitude, Jamie's sister, Jenny, arranges a marriage between Laoghaire and her grieving brother. The marriage, however, is a failure, and Jamie leaves Laoghaire. Upon Jamie and Claire's return to Lallybroch, Laoghaire appears and claims Jamie as her own husband, shooting him in the arm and demanding that he divorce Claire. After the dust has settled, and with assistance from Ned Gowan, Jamie's marriage to Laoghaire is declared invalid – as Claire was clearly still alive – and he agrees to pay her a yearly fee and provide a dowry for each of her two daughters. Drums of Autumn Laoghaire is present when Brianna first visits Lallybroch in June 1769, trying to wheedle money out of Jenny and Ian. She is told by Amyas Ketterick that Jamie was seen riding near Balgriggan, and though she tells Jenny and Ian this they don't believe her. Once she sees Brianna and hears that she is Jamie's daughter she becomes spiteful and furious, demanding to know who Brianna's mother is and suggesting that Brianna could be playing them false in an attempt to obtain money from Jenny and Ian. After Brianna's mother is confirmed to be Claire, Laoghaire accuses Brianna of being a 'witch's spawn' and warns the Murrays to be wary of her. A furious Brianna reveals Laoghaire's role in Claire's arrest for witchcraft in Crainsmuir over twenty years ago, and before leaving Laoghaire tells Brianna that as Jamie's daughter his debts and her debts. She tries to take Ellen's pearls as the payment promised to her by Jamie, but is stopped by Jenny. An Echo in the Bone Laoghaire subsequently takes up a relationship with her servant, Joey; her daughter, Joan, who wishes to join a convent, blackmails her mother into marrying the man. Personality By her actions at age sixteen, Laoghaire paints herself as covetous and vengeful, though at the same time very naive and immature. In middle age she seems to have retained the former qualities. However, her personality in the books is presented through select points of view, primarily Claire's, and so any redeeming qualities she may have are frequently overshadowed by her involvement as antagonist to the series' main heroine. Other aspects of her character are gleaned through brief dialogue later on. Through her daughter, Marsali, Claire learns that Laoghaire's husband was violent with her and her daughters. When Jamie approaches her years later to apologize for deceiving her in their marriage, however unwittingly, Laoghaire's primary justification for her interest in Joseph Murray, the crippled man she has taken as lover, is that he needs her, and Jamie never did. What is not in doubt, is that Laoghaire loves her daughters, and the grandchildren she has never met. She goes so far as to beg Claire, with bribery, to return to America to attend to Henri-Christian, whose enlarged tonsils pose a serious threat to his health. Physical Appearance Laoghaire has fair hair and skin, pale blue eyes, and a round, pretty face. As an adult pushing forty, her body has thickened around the middle and her face is plump and weathered, her once moonbeam-colored hair dulled to an ashy blonde. Relationships *'John Robert MacLeod': A married man from Killiecrankie with whom Laoghaire had an affair as a teenager, though at the time she didn't know he was married. *'Hugh MacKenzie': Laoghaire's first husband and a tacksmen of Colum MacKenzie. He was killed at the Battle of Culloden. They were married for a year. *'Simon MacKimmie': Second husband. They married two years after her first husband was killed, and he is the father of Marsali and Joan. He was the owner of Balriggan, the estate where Laoghaire continues to live. Marsali's memories of him are not pleasant, as she remembers his violent temper. Simon was arrested when the children were very young, and he died in prison. *'Jamie Fraser: Third husband. The two are induced to wed at Jenny Murray's insistence, but within a year Jamie left their home at Balriggan and moved to Edinburgh, unable to bear living there anymore. Jamie recalls that he seemed to always say the wrong thing, and that she seemed to fear him when he tried to be close to her. In later years, Laoghaire admits that she knew Jamie did not need her, wouldn't truly look at her, and that lack made her turn away from him. When Claire returned in 1766, Ned Gowan settled matters between Laoghaire and Jamie, drawing up a contract that stated that Jamie would continue to support Laoghaire and her daughters, as well as provide a dowry for each of the girls, until Laoghaire should remarry. *'''Joseph Boswell Murray: Lover and eventually her fourth husband. He is a hired man at Balriggan, though one leg is shorter than the other and his spine is twisted, making physical labor difficult for him. Laoghaire hesitates to marry him because that would stop Jamie's contractual payments to her, thus running the risk that she would lose Balriggan if she couldn't keep it up. Joan seeks Jamie's help in the matter so that she can become a nun using her dowry money, and Laoghaire eventually agrees to marry Joey if Claire will return to America to help Henri-Christian. Name *'Laoghaire' (LEER ee, LAIR ee, L'Heery) may come from the Old Irish name Laegaire, which may mean "calf-herder". Name of two saints and a .Celtic Female Names of Ireland – accessed 11 May 2015. *'MacKenzie' is the anglicized form of MacCoinnich, a Gaelic patronymic name meaning "son of Coinneach". The personal name Coinneach means "handsome" or "comely".Behind the Name:CoinneachAncestry.com Trivia TV Series Actress Nell Hudson portrays Laoghaire in the STARZ Outlander television series. References Category:Characters Category:Supporting Characters Category:18th century characters Category:MacKenzie Clan Category:Characters in Voyager Category:Characters in Drums of Autumn Category:Characters in The Fiery Cross Category:Characters in An Echo in the Bone Category:Characters in Outlander (novel) Category:Characters in Season 1 Category:Scottish Characters